No its not common for 2 shocks to go bad. Was the front end sitting low? What is common is code b2303 reservoir plausabilty error, which is predominatly from a air suspension pump that doesnt air the reservoir to the 14 bar in the required amount of time. the only reason they would replace both fronts is theyre both bad(not common) or theres a leak in 1 of the fronts and they cant figure out which one

 

OK... my first time here... I live in NE Florida and it's been REALLY cold lately... so of course the "Air Suspension Fault" light came on... Only after I punched it and took off real fast... So I drove slower, 35-45, till I got to destination... upon leaving 3 hours later, the light didn't come on at all...

Next morning, about 23 degrees F, I started it and drove sanely to the Post Office... had not light coming on...

So, after reading EVERY thread, an hour endevor, (and registering) my general consensus is the system is flakey and is triggered by the cold weather... Many causes... but we me, no problem with car height or smooth ride...

I'm living on SSI, and would spend an entire check to have the minimal work done... so if it ever comes to it, I'll try the realy and fuse method first...

Great Forum... I hope I posted in the right place... my page really changed after I registered...

Cheers,
Kyd

 

welcome kyd, I'm pleased you took the time to read all of the very detailed, informative threads regarding the air suspension on your car. All avenues (shock, compressor, lines) have been discussed at length. The cold, as you know, is where that suspension is truly tested. Thankfully, the repair options are getting cheaper, such as the rebuilt shock units for the front. The compressors will soon become a rebuilt option too as more fail. Not much you can do until it happens again. The codes can't be read by just anyone either, but it still may be stored if you want to ask the dealer to check it. That'll at least get you a feel for what you may be in store for in the future.

 

More Info: Sept 4th, a drunk driver lost control at the 45 degree turn in front of my hourse and slammed into my 2000 S-Type (totalled it) and smashed my wife's 2005 VDP in the real passenger's side... Doing $14K worth of damages to the entire quarter panal... Now to my thought... Since the wheel assembly took a severe walloping, could this caused a "shock" problem that is generating the "AIR SUSPENSION FAULT" error light to come on??? Jag Experts.... What say you?
Kyd

 

Your car is 5 years old, but how many miles ? Most common fault on the ais suspension is the compressor. These do not seem to be a long life item, but service exchange units are available, and also Arnott Industries in the US have new ones as 1/2 the Jaguar price.

The new 2011 XJ has gone back to steel springs at the front, so the air is just for the rears now.

 

Thanks for the 2011 news update.... And sorry didn't add the miles for our 2005 vdp.... She has a low 36,344 miles.... Wife's car and hardly driven

i'm hoping it had something to do with the wreck... The rim was broken and the tire had to be replaces... No sure about the shock... I could call the body shop and verify....

Thanks for the replys.
Jeff

 

Hi Kyd

The shunt into your car obviously could have done some damage, but the age of the car, and mileage, could indicate the compressor is on the way out. You need the fault codes to be read. My car is 7 years old and on 39k now, and I had to have a compressor a few weeks ago. They don't suddenly fail it is more of a "fading away" with the pump efficiency gradually dropping until it takes too long to charge the air reservoir tank.

 

Kyd, it may be related, it may not. Since it started acting up 30 days after the accident, I think it should be worth the insurance's (other party's of course) to pay for a dealer diagnosis and evaluation to determine if the current issue in fact, related to the rear damage. For a diagnostic fee of $125-150, if it isn't determined related, the insurance doesn't pay...and you'll know what the problem is. Definitely call or stop by the dealer service when it is slow, explain the situation, and acquire a ballpark amount of what the diagnosis will be for the air suspension. It may be more than the going rate I mentioned.

 

you could have an air leak somewhere. A line maybe or a shock.
if you do have one and once its found they can determine if it was a result of the accident.

 

Thanks for the suggestions... I noticed yesterday (with light on) that the ride did get rougher after driving 1/2 hour.... So I must have a slow leak.... Too bad we can't just squirt in some 'stop-leak'... wishfull thinking... I'll take my baby to the dealer in January to check out the codes.... I never heard a verification if the "error codes" get a date stamp.... Anybody know??? Would help my with my wreck.... We had $14K worth of damages... and the wheel assy really got hammered... So I hope the wreck caused my leak or blown compressor.....

Love this forum.... I haven't learned how to go directly to this post... seems I have to spend several minutes locating this "Air Suspension Fault" thread...

Merry Christmas

 

Kyd, just so you know, the air compressor is fitted behind the bumper on the left hand side - for a US car, the driver side. A 45 minute job to replace.

For the impact yu describe, the suspension height detectors may have got damaged or disrupted. These detect suspension height so the system can keep the car level.

 

Been dealing with this for about a month. Pretty frustrated n none of these local mechanic have a solution for me. Compressor is working fine because I can hear it running. The front of the car is fully raised and the car does not level down even after it has been sitting for a while. Mechanic resets the codes it will be good for a day n then eventually the air bags on the suspension will be fully raised again. I'm thinking is more the front leveling sensor that has gone bad any word of advise on this. Need this issue fixed asap. Thanks

 

Jav
It might help of you started a new thread. This one dates to 2010, in fact my post was the last in December 2010.

If the car keeps raising itself, it indicates the front height needs re-setting, or the height detector is duff. I would try the first thing before whacking out on new parts.

 

Fraser,
How do you go about resetting the suspension, please? Do you need a Jaguar specific code reader?

 

There's many types of 'resets' One involves unplugging battery terminals and touching them together.

The other is going into SDD and either recalibrating suspension / ride height AND/OR reflashing the suspension module altogether.

 

Hello stham,
Thank you for your reply.
I ask because my battery has been disconnected (for other works) for about three weeks. Reconnected now and everything is fine except I have now twice had an amber Suspension Fault which goes away if I switch off and then back on again? My front suspension is low when this happens, but as soon as I stop and go into Park, up it comes again? I cannot hear any leaks but it does drop a little overnight? As soon as I start up, up it comes?

 

If you've never rebuilt or replaced your compressor, this will always cause a variety of issues including not airing up correctly. Leaky struts will accelerate the wear and eventual failure of the compressor.

 

I see the truth in what you say.

However, difficult to decide whether this sudden appearance of a problem is related to the battery, the Compressor or the front left Shock (right shock already previously replaced); perhaps a combination, but which to tackle first is the conundrum? Perhaps just drive it until it really goes wrong is the only solution?

 

1. Fix any known leaks. If a strut is found to be leaky it would be wise to replace it.
2. Rebuild compressor once all leaks fixed.